Stories of strange selling experiences
Discussion
Had my mk2 Fiesta 1100 up for sale (this is about 20 yrs ago) for £1300 in local "Loot" (remember it?like a latter-day E&M). Guy phones, says "how much will you take as your lowest? responded with £1200. G"I won't bother, it's too expensive, I've got 3 others to look at first" Me "Ok, fine". Next day he rings at 11:30 "I'll come and have a look, where are you?" Told me he was in Town A 4 miles away. He arrives, looks at it, doesn't want to start it, says "that's almost identical to my daughter's, same colour was written off last week, someone smacked into the back, she'd love that car - how much will you take?" Me "£1200 same as yesterday."
Off he goes - having offered £900. 2 hrs later a girl phones up "Have you still got the car?" Me "yes" G "Ok I'll come round, will be there in about 1/4 hour" I sensed the phone about to go dead so had to say "would you like to know where we are?". Came off phone laughing and said to OH "that's his daughter, I swear it". 20 mins later a knock at door "I've come to look at car" says girl with a support collar on her neck. I ignored it and showed her and her Nan the car. After a few mins I had to say IT "Oh, have you hurt your neck?" G"Car went into mine and wrote it off, this ones nice it's the same colour" Me "Oh dear, hey, didn't your dad come and look at this earlier?" I just couldn't help myself
G "how much will you take" G&N "we've got £900, as it was my 18th last week so that's all we've got" N "she's had to borrow it from me" Me "I'll take £1200. They walk away. Next week I reduce the price in local LOOT to £1200. Someone rings "have you got the car still?" Me "yes, where did you see it" In last weeks Loot town B. That's handy thought I he saw it at £1300. 40 mins later he's at the door, buys it without as much as a drive, for £1300.
Next day Dad rings, "have you still got the car" Me "no sold it for £1300 yesterday"
You could hear the sigh of regret when he put the phone down.
Off he goes - having offered £900. 2 hrs later a girl phones up "Have you still got the car?" Me "yes" G "Ok I'll come round, will be there in about 1/4 hour" I sensed the phone about to go dead so had to say "would you like to know where we are?". Came off phone laughing and said to OH "that's his daughter, I swear it". 20 mins later a knock at door "I've come to look at car" says girl with a support collar on her neck. I ignored it and showed her and her Nan the car. After a few mins I had to say IT "Oh, have you hurt your neck?" G"Car went into mine and wrote it off, this ones nice it's the same colour" Me "Oh dear, hey, didn't your dad come and look at this earlier?" I just couldn't help myself
G "how much will you take" G&N "we've got £900, as it was my 18th last week so that's all we've got" N "she's had to borrow it from me" Me "I'll take £1200. They walk away. Next week I reduce the price in local LOOT to £1200. Someone rings "have you got the car still?" Me "yes, where did you see it" In last weeks Loot town B. That's handy thought I he saw it at £1300. 40 mins later he's at the door, buys it without as much as a drive, for £1300. Next day Dad rings, "have you still got the car" Me "no sold it for £1300 yesterday"
You could hear the sigh of regret when he put the phone down.
Fastpedeller said:
Had my mk2 Fiesta 1100 up for sale (this is about 20 yrs ago) for £1300 in local "Loot" (remember it?like a latter-day E&M). Guy phones, says "how much will you take as your lowest? responded with £1200. G"I won't bother, it's too expensive, I've got 3 others to look at first" Me "Ok, fine". Next day he rings at 11:30 "I'll come and have a look, where are you?" Told me he was in Town A 4 miles away. He arrives, looks at it, doesn't want to start it, says "that's almost identical to my daughter's, same colour was written off last week, someone smacked into the back, she'd love that car - how much will you take?" Me "£1200 same as yesterday."
Off he goes - having offered £900. 2 hrs later a girl phones up "Have you still got the car?" Me "yes" G "Ok I'll come round, will be there in about 1/4 hour" I sensed the phone about to go dead so had to say "would you like to know where we are?". Came off phone laughing and said to OH "that's his daughter, I swear it". 20 mins later a knock at door "I've come to look at car" says girl with a support collar on her neck. I ignored it and showed her and her Nan the car. After a few mins I had to say IT "Oh, have you hurt your neck?" G"Car went into mine and wrote it off, this ones nice it's the same colour" Me "Oh dear, hey, didn't your dad come and look at this earlier?" I just couldn't help myself G "how much will you take" G&N "we've got £900, as it was my 18th last week so that's all we've got" N "she's had to borrow it from me" Me "I'll take £1200. They walk away. Next week I reduce the price in local LOOT to £1200. Someone rings "have you got the car still?" Me "yes, where did you see it" In last weeks Loot town B. That's handy thought I he saw it at £1300. 40 mins later he's at the door, buys it without as much as a drive, for £1300.
Next day Dad rings, "have you still got the car" Me "no sold it for £1300 yesterday"
You could hear the sigh of regret when he put the phone down.
There's a lesson to be learnt there!Off he goes - having offered £900. 2 hrs later a girl phones up "Have you still got the car?" Me "yes" G "Ok I'll come round, will be there in about 1/4 hour" I sensed the phone about to go dead so had to say "would you like to know where we are?". Came off phone laughing and said to OH "that's his daughter, I swear it". 20 mins later a knock at door "I've come to look at car" says girl with a support collar on her neck. I ignored it and showed her and her Nan the car. After a few mins I had to say IT "Oh, have you hurt your neck?" G"Car went into mine and wrote it off, this ones nice it's the same colour" Me "Oh dear, hey, didn't your dad come and look at this earlier?" I just couldn't help myself
G "how much will you take" G&N "we've got £900, as it was my 18th last week so that's all we've got" N "she's had to borrow it from me" Me "I'll take £1200. They walk away. Next week I reduce the price in local LOOT to £1200. Someone rings "have you got the car still?" Me "yes, where did you see it" In last weeks Loot town B. That's handy thought I he saw it at £1300. 40 mins later he's at the door, buys it without as much as a drive, for £1300. Next day Dad rings, "have you still got the car" Me "no sold it for £1300 yesterday"
You could hear the sigh of regret when he put the phone down.
I used to prefer the Quids In for looking at cars. I did labouring as a lad, and my boss loved nothing more than to sit on a roof with me looking through the motors section. Quite often we'd find an excuse to skive off and look at a car. I blame him for all the cars I've been through out of lust.
I started a thread on here last year with the hassle i had selling a mates V6 Turbo Signum on Ebay. I was getting hundreds of messages a day (all of which were answered in the advert)and an equally tiresome amount of calls. I mean, why ask what colour it is when you're looking at the photos?
I was offered all sorts in swaps - Puppies (always Staffies), Playstations, Mopeds and all manner of junk in exchange for the car - anything but cash.
Also attracted a number of 'sob story' calls. These people were trying to make out how hard done by they were - Sick kids, vet bills, abject poverty etc so they could only pay a fraction of the modest price i was asking. My first question to them was why if you're so poor, do you want a car that costs £500 to tax and does low 20's MPG?
Glad when that sold!
Also, as already mentioned i once sold a car on Ebay listed at £5K. The chap who won, never saw the car but transferred me the money and arranged to pick it up a month later! I didn't hear from him till the day before he collected it, asking me to pick him up from the train station. I do wonder what he was thinking while he was stood at the station waiting for me to collect him as i was running late.
I was offered all sorts in swaps - Puppies (always Staffies), Playstations, Mopeds and all manner of junk in exchange for the car - anything but cash.
Also attracted a number of 'sob story' calls. These people were trying to make out how hard done by they were - Sick kids, vet bills, abject poverty etc so they could only pay a fraction of the modest price i was asking. My first question to them was why if you're so poor, do you want a car that costs £500 to tax and does low 20's MPG?
Glad when that sold!
Also, as already mentioned i once sold a car on Ebay listed at £5K. The chap who won, never saw the car but transferred me the money and arranged to pick it up a month later! I didn't hear from him till the day before he collected it, asking me to pick him up from the train station. I do wonder what he was thinking while he was stood at the station waiting for me to collect him as i was running late.
My story:
A good few years ago I sold an old BMW 323i. It worked perfectly, but had almost been to the moon and was a bit tatty, even by usual E36 standards. The sale went well, my then pride and joy disappearing into the distance...
About a year later, the guy emails me. He wants me to write a letter for him, saying that I actually sold it to his father, not him; stating that we'd filled in the V5 incorrectly.
I ignored him.
Any guesses guys? Best I could come up with is that he'd gone bankrupt and didn't want to lose it?
A good few years ago I sold an old BMW 323i. It worked perfectly, but had almost been to the moon and was a bit tatty, even by usual E36 standards. The sale went well, my then pride and joy disappearing into the distance...
About a year later, the guy emails me. He wants me to write a letter for him, saying that I actually sold it to his father, not him; stating that we'd filled in the V5 incorrectly.
I ignored him.
Any guesses guys? Best I could come up with is that he'd gone bankrupt and didn't want to lose it?
cj2013 said:
Fastpedeller said:
Had my mk2 Fiesta 1100 up for sale (this is about 20 yrs ago) for £1300 in local "Loot" (remember it?like a latter-day E&M). Guy phones, says "how much will you take as your lowest? responded with £1200. G"I won't bother, it's too expensive, I've got 3 others to look at first" Me "Ok, fine". Next day he rings at 11:30 "I'll come and have a look, where are you?" Told me he was in Town A 4 miles away. He arrives, looks at it, doesn't want to start it, says "that's almost identical to my daughter's, same colour was written off last week, someone smacked into the back, she'd love that car - how much will you take?" Me "£1200 same as yesterday."
Off he goes - having offered £900. 2 hrs later a girl phones up "Have you still got the car?" Me "yes" G "Ok I'll come round, will be there in about 1/4 hour" I sensed the phone about to go dead so had to say "would you like to know where we are?". Came off phone laughing and said to OH "that's his daughter, I swear it". 20 mins later a knock at door "I've come to look at car" says girl with a support collar on her neck. I ignored it and showed her and her Nan the car. After a few mins I had to say IT "Oh, have you hurt your neck?" G"Car went into mine and wrote it off, this ones nice it's the same colour" Me "Oh dear, hey, didn't your dad come and look at this earlier?" I just couldn't help myself G "how much will you take" G&N "we've got £900, as it was my 18th last week so that's all we've got" N "she's had to borrow it from me" Me "I'll take £1200. They walk away. Next week I reduce the price in local LOOT to £1200. Someone rings "have you got the car still?" Me "yes, where did you see it" In last weeks Loot town B. That's handy thought I he saw it at £1300. 40 mins later he's at the door, buys it without as much as a drive, for £1300.
Next day Dad rings, "have you still got the car" Me "no sold it for £1300 yesterday"
You could hear the sigh of regret when he put the phone down.
There's a lesson to be learnt there!Off he goes - having offered £900. 2 hrs later a girl phones up "Have you still got the car?" Me "yes" G "Ok I'll come round, will be there in about 1/4 hour" I sensed the phone about to go dead so had to say "would you like to know where we are?". Came off phone laughing and said to OH "that's his daughter, I swear it". 20 mins later a knock at door "I've come to look at car" says girl with a support collar on her neck. I ignored it and showed her and her Nan the car. After a few mins I had to say IT "Oh, have you hurt your neck?" G"Car went into mine and wrote it off, this ones nice it's the same colour" Me "Oh dear, hey, didn't your dad come and look at this earlier?" I just couldn't help myself
G "how much will you take" G&N "we've got £900, as it was my 18th last week so that's all we've got" N "she's had to borrow it from me" Me "I'll take £1200. They walk away. Next week I reduce the price in local LOOT to £1200. Someone rings "have you got the car still?" Me "yes, where did you see it" In last weeks Loot town B. That's handy thought I he saw it at £1300. 40 mins later he's at the door, buys it without as much as a drive, for £1300. Next day Dad rings, "have you still got the car" Me "no sold it for £1300 yesterday"
You could hear the sigh of regret when he put the phone down.
I used to prefer the Quids In for looking at cars. I did labouring as a lad, and my boss loved nothing more than to sit on a roof with me looking through the motors section. Quite often we'd find an excuse to skive off and look at a car. I blame him for all the cars I've been through out of lust.
surveyor said:
What lesson? To me it sounds like they were probably straight up and only had £900 to spend.. They obviously hoped like most people OP would negotiate, but no sirree in this instance.
But he did.He dropped it from £1,300 to £1,200 on the first call.
A nearly 8% drop.
Isn't that negotiating?
surveyor said:
What lesson? To me it sounds like they were probably straight up and only had £900 to spend.. They obviously hoped like most people OP would negotiate, but no sirree in this instance.
The lesson is for the buyer: If you find something you really want, don't dwell on it or you'll miss the boat.We did the same when we bought our house - had a look, loved it, offered full asking price on the doorstep. Sometimes a missed opportunity can be worth more than the money you're trying to save.
Sold a £600 Mondeo on eBay. Buyer contacts immediately, opening with "Hi, I am in Poland"....Here we go, I thought as my scam alert went off, but persevered. "I will collect the car tomorrow evening". Tomorrow evening being our wedding anniversary and with a table booked at our favourite restaurant, I respond and tell him that's not convenient, adding jokingly "Unless you want to come at midnight" "OK" he replies, "see you at midnight"
The following evening, my wife and I go out for our meal and get home, open a bottle of red and take a load off. Midnight on the dot, the doorbell rings and there's my Polish buyer, with a mate, in a similar Mondeo they'd picked up earlier in the day from Luton. He comes in, we do the paperwork over a coffee, he hands over the cash, goes outside, starts it, revs it, asks if there's a spare wheel (which there was), does a walk around in the dark, shakes hands and drives off. a few hours later it was out of the country and on its way to Warsaw. Next day is positive eBay feedback.
The two of them do a couple of trips a month. Buying old Fords in the UK for pennies, getting a cheap flight to somewhere near the first one, driving the first one to collect the second one, then driving them home immediately. A mate who owns a garage in Warsaw converts them to left hand drive, and they punt them on locally at a profit. Thoroughly nice guys to boot.
In one stroke, the strangest and most hassle free selling experience I have ever had.
The following evening, my wife and I go out for our meal and get home, open a bottle of red and take a load off. Midnight on the dot, the doorbell rings and there's my Polish buyer, with a mate, in a similar Mondeo they'd picked up earlier in the day from Luton. He comes in, we do the paperwork over a coffee, he hands over the cash, goes outside, starts it, revs it, asks if there's a spare wheel (which there was), does a walk around in the dark, shakes hands and drives off. a few hours later it was out of the country and on its way to Warsaw. Next day is positive eBay feedback.
The two of them do a couple of trips a month. Buying old Fords in the UK for pennies, getting a cheap flight to somewhere near the first one, driving the first one to collect the second one, then driving them home immediately. A mate who owns a garage in Warsaw converts them to left hand drive, and they punt them on locally at a profit. Thoroughly nice guys to boot.
In one stroke, the strangest and most hassle free selling experience I have ever had.
mrfunex said:
My story:
A good few years ago I sold an old BMW 323i. It worked perfectly, but had almost been to the moon and was a bit tatty, even by usual E36 standards. The sale went well, my then pride and joy disappearing into the distance...
About a year later, the guy emails me. He wants me to write a letter for him, saying that I actually sold it to his father, not him; stating that we'd filled in the V5 incorrectly.
I ignored him.
Any guesses guys? Best I could come up with is that he'd gone bankrupt and didn't want to lose it?
Sold it to his Dad but didn't want to add another registered keeper to the history? A good few years ago I sold an old BMW 323i. It worked perfectly, but had almost been to the moon and was a bit tatty, even by usual E36 standards. The sale went well, my then pride and joy disappearing into the distance...
About a year later, the guy emails me. He wants me to write a letter for him, saying that I actually sold it to his father, not him; stating that we'd filled in the V5 incorrectly.
I ignored him.
Any guesses guys? Best I could come up with is that he'd gone bankrupt and didn't want to lose it?
cj2013 said:
The lesson is for the buyer: If you find something you really want, don't dwell on it or you'll miss the boat.
We did the same when we bought our house - had a look, loved it, offered full asking price on the doorstep. Sometimes a missed opportunity can be worth more than the money you're trying to save.
In the late eighties a mate of mine went to look at a house in the NE which at the time was up for sale at £40k , he viewed it and offered £41k if they took it off the market which they did .We did the same when we bought our house - had a look, loved it, offered full asking price on the doorstep. Sometimes a missed opportunity can be worth more than the money you're trying to save.
I asked why he'd paid over the odds for it , his reply was prompt, correct position for schooling , at the head of a cul de sac , west facing rear garden and good links for transport , added to which he worked for a bank and was on a cheap mortgage deal , I'm not going to lose a house I want for £1000 .
He was proved right.
Buster73 said:
In the late eighties a mate of mine went to look at a house in the NE which at the time was up for sale at £40k , he viewed it and offered £41k if they took it off the market which they did .
I asked why he'd paid over the odds for it , his reply was prompt, correct position for schooling , at the head of a cul de sac , west facing rear garden and good links for transport , added to which he worked for a bank and was on a cheap mortgage deal , I'm not going to lose a house I want for £1000 .
He was proved right.
Not too far off with us.I asked why he'd paid over the odds for it , his reply was prompt, correct position for schooling , at the head of a cul de sac , west facing rear garden and good links for transport , added to which he worked for a bank and was on a cheap mortgage deal , I'm not going to lose a house I want for £1000 .
He was proved right.
We saw it, booked a viewing, but it sold before we got to see it (within days). We looked at others in the area within the same budget, but they just didn't hold up - it was 500 yds from her parents, a pub, a GP, shop, takeaway, pharmacy and two schools.
I had email alerts with RightMove, and it came back up one day whilst I was on lunch, so I rang to book. We went round that very same day and agreed to buy it there and then. We could have saved a few quid with an offer, but we would have lost out on a good investment opportunity. We've done a bit to it (modernisation), but I reckon it's worth £25-30k more already, 18 months later. I doubt the other homes we looked at are.
Buster73 said:
In the late eighties a mate of mine went to look at a house in the NE which at the time was up for sale at £40k , he viewed it and offered £41k if they took it off the market which they did .
I asked why he'd paid over the odds for it , his reply was prompt, correct position for schooling , at the head of a cul de sac , west facing rear garden and good links for transport , added to which he worked for a bank and was on a cheap mortgage deal , I'm not going to lose a house I want for £1000 .
He was proved right.
Me.and ex wife paid full asking on a house last year, decent school location, excellent transport links, cul dear sac location, driveway, garden etc... I asked why he'd paid over the odds for it , his reply was prompt, correct position for schooling , at the head of a cul de sac , west facing rear garden and good links for transport , added to which he worked for a bank and was on a cheap mortgage deal , I'm not going to lose a house I want for £1000 .
He was proved right.
We split up not long after moving in like... But it's a good house. We put it on market a few weeks ago, took less than 10 days to find a buyer, paying 7 grand more than we did.
Location means a lot.
Limpet said:
Sold a £600 Mondeo on eBay. Buyer contacts immediately, opening with "Hi, I am in Poland"....Here we go, I thought as my scam alert went off, but persevered. "I will collect the car tomorrow evening". Tomorrow evening being our wedding anniversary and with a table booked at our favourite restaurant, I respond and tell him that's not convenient, adding jokingly "Unless you want to come at midnight" "OK" he replies, "see you at midnight"
The following evening, my wife and I go out for our meal and get home, open a bottle of red and take a load off. Midnight on the dot, the doorbell rings and there's my Polish buyer, with a mate, in a similar Mondeo they'd picked up earlier in the day from Luton. He comes in, we do the paperwork over a coffee, he hands over the cash, goes outside, starts it, revs it, asks if there's a spare wheel (which there was), does a walk around in the dark, shakes hands and drives off. a few hours later it was out of the country and on its way to Warsaw. Next day is positive eBay feedback.
The two of them do a couple of trips a month. Buying old Fords in the UK for pennies, getting a cheap flight to somewhere near the first one, driving the first one to collect the second one, then driving them home immediately. A mate who owns a garage in Warsaw converts them to left hand drive, and they punt them on locally at a profit. Thoroughly nice guys to boot.
In one stroke, the strangest and most hassle free selling experience I have ever had.
By far, the easiest sales I've had (cars, bikes, household appliances etc) have been to people from Poland or the Baltic states.The following evening, my wife and I go out for our meal and get home, open a bottle of red and take a load off. Midnight on the dot, the doorbell rings and there's my Polish buyer, with a mate, in a similar Mondeo they'd picked up earlier in the day from Luton. He comes in, we do the paperwork over a coffee, he hands over the cash, goes outside, starts it, revs it, asks if there's a spare wheel (which there was), does a walk around in the dark, shakes hands and drives off. a few hours later it was out of the country and on its way to Warsaw. Next day is positive eBay feedback.
The two of them do a couple of trips a month. Buying old Fords in the UK for pennies, getting a cheap flight to somewhere near the first one, driving the first one to collect the second one, then driving them home immediately. A mate who owns a garage in Warsaw converts them to left hand drive, and they punt them on locally at a profit. Thoroughly nice guys to boot.
In one stroke, the strangest and most hassle free selling experience I have ever had.
They're polite, turn up when promised and in my experience don't even bother haggling over the price. Just hand over the cash, thank you for your time and leave.
Mr Peel said:
HaroldBishop said:
It was such a tight fit that we had to get our skinniest bloke to drive it in, climb out of the window and slide down the bonnet.
Only on PH do you read splendid sentences such as this.
I always smiled at the thought of a couple of 20-stone dockers throwing the container doors open in Paraguay and standing there scratching their heads...
littlebasher said:
Limpet said:
Sold a £600 Mondeo on eBay. Buyer contacts immediately, opening with "Hi, I am in Poland"....Here we go, I thought as my scam alert went off, but persevered. "I will collect the car tomorrow evening". Tomorrow evening being our wedding anniversary and with a table booked at our favourite restaurant, I respond and tell him that's not convenient, adding jokingly "Unless you want to come at midnight" "OK" he replies, "see you at midnight"
The following evening, my wife and I go out for our meal and get home, open a bottle of red and take a load off. Midnight on the dot, the doorbell rings and there's my Polish buyer, with a mate, in a similar Mondeo they'd picked up earlier in the day from Luton. He comes in, we do the paperwork over a coffee, he hands over the cash, goes outside, starts it, revs it, asks if there's a spare wheel (which there was), does a walk around in the dark, shakes hands and drives off. a few hours later it was out of the country and on its way to Warsaw. Next day is positive eBay feedback.
The two of them do a couple of trips a month. Buying old Fords in the UK for pennies, getting a cheap flight to somewhere near the first one, driving the first one to collect the second one, then driving them home immediately. A mate who owns a garage in Warsaw converts them to left hand drive, and they punt them on locally at a profit. Thoroughly nice guys to boot.
In one stroke, the strangest and most hassle free selling experience I have ever had.
By far, the easiest sales I've had (cars, bikes, household appliances etc) have been to people from Poland or the Baltic states.The following evening, my wife and I go out for our meal and get home, open a bottle of red and take a load off. Midnight on the dot, the doorbell rings and there's my Polish buyer, with a mate, in a similar Mondeo they'd picked up earlier in the day from Luton. He comes in, we do the paperwork over a coffee, he hands over the cash, goes outside, starts it, revs it, asks if there's a spare wheel (which there was), does a walk around in the dark, shakes hands and drives off. a few hours later it was out of the country and on its way to Warsaw. Next day is positive eBay feedback.
The two of them do a couple of trips a month. Buying old Fords in the UK for pennies, getting a cheap flight to somewhere near the first one, driving the first one to collect the second one, then driving them home immediately. A mate who owns a garage in Warsaw converts them to left hand drive, and they punt them on locally at a profit. Thoroughly nice guys to boot.
In one stroke, the strangest and most hassle free selling experience I have ever had.
They're polite, turn up when promised and in my experience don't even bother haggling over the price. Just hand over the cash, thank you for your time and leave.
My worst experiences has been with 'innits', so much so I just used to tell them 'no thanks' if they called. Every single sale was hassle and a drama. Every one. Life's too short for that pish.
Dog Star said:
Jonno02 said:
I think he meant same as in, it's legal, just dispensed by a different bank.
Quite, they might have the same value but by no means are they physically the same. Look at all those - I wouldn't know a snide one from a real one and if someone rocked up and tried to buy a car off me with them I'd simply have to say "no" - get them to go to the bank and change them.Significantly easier to forge too.
Sway said:
Scots money, they cannot print money without the equivalent held in BoE issued notes in the vault.
Significantly easier to forge too.
They doesn't sound right to me, printed notes must match printed notes held in BOe, I would say assets against the notes printed not just notes.Significantly easier to forge too.
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